Circuit controller



April 1, 1930. J. J. RUDDICK 1,752,812

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Original Filed Aug. 24. 1922 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN J. RUDDICK, OF WEST NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL STREET SIGNAL CORPORATION,

OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK omcor'r CONTROLLER Original application filed August 24, 1922, Serial No. 584,127. Divided and this application filed December 18, 1923. Serial No. 681,343.

10 sists of certain parts and combinations of parts, all of which will be hereinafter described: the novel features being pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows diagrammatically a controller constructed in accordance with this invention' Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the manner in which one of the controlling elements is 20 released from the operating means; and

Fig.3 is a fragmentary View showing the connection between the two controlling elements.

Referring. more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates a coil of a solenoid which has a core 2 operable in one direction through the energization of the coil and in the-other direction through a weight 3. The coil may be in a circuit 4 having a source of energy there in such as a battery 5. This circuitis controlled by two controllers both simultaneously operated from a common motor such as a clock motor (not shown).

This motor has a shaft 6 which rotates once in twenty;four hours and is electrically connected to the circuit. Rigidly secured to this shaft is a counter-balanced switch arm 7 forming a controlling member and having contact fingers 8 movable over contact plates 9 arranged in annular series and insulated from each other, these contact plates being,

in this instance, twenty-four in'number for the twenty-four hours of the day. Surrounding the annular series of contacts 9 is an annular contact 10 which is electrically connected to the circuit 4 and is insulated from the contacts 9. 4

In order that electrical connection may be established between any one or more of the contacts 9 and the ring or annular contact 10, a series of conductor plugs 11 is employed, each plug bein adapted to be introduced into openings 12 adjacent the contacts 9, so as to connect such contacts with the ring. It is apparent that, if a conductor plug 11 connects a contact plate 9 with the annular or ring shaped contact or conductor 10, then, upon the engagement of the contact plate by the contacts 8 on the controller arm 7, a circuit 4 will be established provided, of course, the circuit is otherwise closed.

In the circuit is also provided a switch part 13 arranged to connect to switch contacts 14. This switch part is controlled to open periodically the switch. This is effected preferably through a controlling member 15 ar ranged to turn loosely on a shaft 16 and normally held by suitable means such as a weight 17 so as to cause the switch part 13 to close the switch. In order to effect the opening of the switch a toothed member 18 is mounted to turn with the shaft 16 and is driven through said shaft so that it makes one complete revolution in one hour. T he teeth on the periphery are sixty in number corresponding to the sixty minutes in an hour and, for cooperation with these teeth, a detent or pawl 19 is provided which is pivoted at 20 to the movable controller 15. A spring 21 secured at 22 to the detent and at 23 to the controller is so arranged that it acts to hold the pawl either in cooperation withthe teeth or out of cooperation with the teeth depending upon the direction in which the pawl is shifted.

For effecting the engagement between the pawl or detent and the toothed member 18, a stop or abutment 24 is provided so arranged as to cooperate with the pawl at a point adjacent the nose 25, this stop or abutment 24 being so situated that, as the switch part 13 engages the contacts 14, cooperation between the pawl 19 and the toothed wheel is estab lished in order that the toothed wheel may shift the controller to carry the switch part 13 away from the contacts 14.

The duration of the open period of the switch is determined by a stop or abutment 26 which is arranged to cooperate with the detent or pawl 19 adjacent the pivot of the latter so as to cause the pawl or detent 19 to th d member 18 and permit the disengage with the detent 18, thus permitting the switch part1?) to move again into engagement with the contacts '14 under the action of the weight 17. i

To the end that this open period of the 3i;tc l1; may be changed, the position of the stop -oi' a butment 26 isv changeable, and, to eliect this, there is provided, in a disk 27 about the toothed wheel, an arcuate series of 1 openings 28 inwhich the stop or abutment 26' may beiiis'ert'edl lhese openings 28 are situated a distance apart substantially equal to the dista'ncebetween two teeth or the equivalent of the time it will. take themova- 15 tile controller 15 ,to move one minute under the action of the toothed wheel 18. In this way itis possible,"byshifting the stop or abutment 2t), to cause the switch 1?; to close in periods of any desired number of minutes.

2 Both of the circuit controllers are arranged upon a single casing containing the clock mechanism, the shaft 16 being connected to the hourshatt of said mechanism and the shaft 6 so that" it rotates once in every twentytour"lioui'sythere being a gear 29 30 on the "thereon meshing with the gear sh a tt 16 so that the latter makes one complete rotation each hour.

, The operation of the invention will be 0 understood from tlle fOl'tQ'OlllQ description,

"' 'r- 'b'ut it may be summarized as follows: I As's'ui'ning that it isdesircd to energize the ff ele'ct-ro nagnet for ten minute periods during fourteen hours ot-the day. then fourteen of the contacts 9 are connected to the ring 10 throughtheplugs 11 and the stop 26 is adjusted in (the. tenth opening from the normal position of the controlling member 15.

"Both OflllQSG controlling members being op'erated'from the same clock mechanism roceed in their movements and. when the "deten't .19 turned by the shaft 16 engages the shifted out of connection detent to move back to the stop 24 under the weightl'l', the stop 24 reconnecting the detent with the toothed wheel or member to permit 'the detent to again proceed on its movement.

After the. detent-19 reaches the stop 2% the connector 13 closes the circuit and energizes the'solenoid coil 1. This action continues every ten minutes until the contact 8 passes .ionto-.a, contact 9 which is not connected to the ring 10, thus stopping the periodic action. This periodic act-ion is-again'started when ;the-contact member 8 reaches a contact plate 9 which connects with a' ring 10. In this way no attention is required to be given to the controller as its operation is periodically eiiected automatically during a determined period or periods at the day. I It follows" that thcrelhas been provided two controlling devices, one of which is adjustable to determine the. number'of minutes between success ve operations of the solenoid "and the other of which'is adjustable to determine the period or periods during the day through which the operations shall take place. i I This application is a division of an application filed by me on August 24, 19:22, Serial No. 584,127. on a Trathc signal.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a circuit controller, the combination with two circuit controlling members for controlling a single circuit, one of said members being rotatable in a complete circle, and the other of said members being movable in two directions to open and close the circuit, and common motive power for both controlling members having connection with the firstmentioned controlling member to move the latter in a complete circle and having connection with the second mentioned controlling member to effect the movement of the latter toward and from a closed position a plurality of times during one rotation of the first mentioned controlling member.

2. In a circuit controller, the combination with two circuit controlling members for controlling-a single circuit, one of said members being rotatable in a complete circle, and the other of said members being movable in two directions to open and close the circuit, a common motive power for both controlling members having connection with the first mentioned controlling member to move the latter in a complete circle and having connection with the second mentioned controlling member to effect the movement ofthe latter toward and from a closed position a plurality of times during one rotation of the first mentioned controlling member, and means for varying the time between the closing movements of the two direction movement controlling member relatively to the speed of rotation of the controlling member movable in a complete circle.

8. In a circuit controller, the combination with two circuit controlling members for controlling a single circuit, one of said members being rotatable in a complete circle, and the other of said members being movable in two directions to open and close the circuit, a common motive power for both controlling members having connection with the first mentionedcontrolling member to move the latter in a complete circle and having connection with the second mentioned controlling member to efiect the movement of the latter towardand from a closed position a plurality of times during one rotation of the first mentioned controlling member, an annular series of contacts over which the controlling member moving in a complete comprising a common motor, two rotary members continuously driven by the motor at different speeds, he slower moving of said rotary members being a -switch member, an annular series of contacts over which said switch member is carried, means for connectin}; any one ofsaid contacts with the circuit at will, an oscillatory switch member movable to open and close the circuit, about the axis of rotation of the rotary member moving at the higher speed, means normally moving said oscillatory switch member toward closed position, and means for connecting and disconnecting said oscillatory switch member from the rotary member driven at 5 the higher speed.

5. A circuit controller for a single circuitcomprising an annular series of wide contacts, a rotary switch member successively travelling over said contacts, means connecting at will any one of the contacts with the circuit to be controlled, a second switch member controlling the same circuit, a rotary member-driven with the rotary switch member, and means for causin said last mentioned rotary member to e ect the openin and closing of the circuit periodically by sai second switch member.

6. In a circuit controller, two controlling mechanisms for effecting the opening and the closing of a single circuit, having a common motive power for operating them, one of said controlling mechanisms having a uniform time period between its successive closing operations and having also means for varying'said time period, and the other of said mechanisms having adjustable means for determining atime during which the successive closing operations of the first mentioned mechanism will be effective.

JOHN J. RUDDIOK. 

